2 replies to this topic

[Angus86]

Hi All! 

 

I've recently been tasked with finding information on getting "organic" onto our product labels by my senior management (not QA, or science-y at all, they're marketing guys). 

 

I'm finding a great deal of information on farms and agriculture, but not on processed products. For reference, we make a dietary CoQ10 supplement that is regulated by 21 CFR Part 111. It is over 90% water in the finished product. 

 

I'm just looking for a resource so we can start looking into whether or not this is something we can obtain. 

 

Thanks!!! 

[BrummyJim]

You need to contact your national organic certificate issuing authority first. They will tell you their requirements for certification. If you already hold a GFSI certificate, it's a good start!

 

Next you need to find suppliers of the organic produce you need. This might be more of a challenge than you have imagined; you may well have to look outside your own country for them. You will need to have a supplier approval process to follow.

 

Now you have the suppliers, you will need to submit a detailed recipe with supplier information for approval with the label you plan to use. Note that the suppliers will probably need to be approved for use in your country. If it's all approved, then you will need to pass the audit.

 

Start production.

 

Good luck.

[Harminnie]

Not sure where you're at but in the US the National Organic Program (NOP) has a website www.ams.usda.gov which covers farmers to processors with the different levels of organic. There are rumors the US may be getting rid of the 100% category to come in line with other countries 'organic' definitions NOP lists what ingredients/items have to be organic as well as which ones are allowed to be non-organic. Basically, if you can find (Google) an organic option then it needs to be organic. In the US you can use any NOP certifier. Some states have cost-sharing plans, etc. As a small company, we've taken our BRC manual and incorporated Organic right into them so as not to have to create everything new, kid of like checking in allergen products- another category. The biggest difference between certifiers in the US is how they charge. QAI (part of NSF or vice-versa), which was an early certifier in the organic world, charges a flat fee for the audit and no additional fees based on volume-so that works great for the big companies. I hope I got that all correct. We started with a certifier that has a state price share program for the audit and then they charge a % for Organic sales greater than a certain amount. This works for us breaking into the organic processing world. This gives you a bit of information about the US system. Good Luck and don't make it harder than it is.